SMHS students from other countries give us a fresh perspective

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Monthly Archives: March 2013

Hello, my name is Yuriko Tsuchie and I am an exchange student from Japan. I came to the United States August 8 and flew all the way from Narita to the U.S. and I live in Hillsdale with a host family and in this family I have two younger sisters.

When I left Japan I was really excited but also very nervous. It turned out to be a great experience even if right now there are some things that I miss from Japan.

The school system is different: the school starts in April and ends in March; some schools go on Saturdays too. We have just three years of high school.

School takes a lot of free time of the teenagers’ life: we usually don’t have a lot of activities and hobbies, but we essentially study.

When I don’t have a lot of homework I like to go to the Hot Springs and use Purikura with my friends. Purikura is a fun way to take pictures with your friends that allows you to write statements on the pictures and put graphic elements such as hearts, and stars. And it’s one of the things that I like most

The main difference between the Japanese people and the Americans is that here people are more friendly. When in Japan we are more shy and don’t start a conversation with people that we don’t know.

I like it here, and one of the first things that impressed me was the size of everything! Everything is huge!

If I think about how I felt when I left, I feel really different now, and I know that I have just three months before I have to leave, so I want to enjoy the American life!